In the past, the culture of Ohafia was hinged around one's prowess in war.
They were constantly on the lookout for wars in which to take part. They became something like mercenaries and the people of Arochukwu, who were all over Igboland 'hunting' for slaves, harnessed this warlike spirit in Ohafia people to their own advantage. The ancestors of the Ohafia people were renowned as mighty warriors.
This aspect of the Ohafia peoples history remains fundamental to the Ohafia people's sense of identity.
The warrior's cap or "leopard cap" (Igbo: Okpu agu)is well known and is an associated product of Ohafia.
The Ohafia warrior tradition is embodied in the performance of iri agha The practise of beheading a fallen foe was a favourite pastime. A human skull was valued as a souvenir, and it was a proof of a man's courage, which brought to the Ohafia man different types of honour. Only those who brought home a human head could join the Ogbu-Isi society and wear the eagle plume of courage. The love of military glory became a consuming passion and the focus of all social values. The Ohafia people, whose warlike exploits made peaceful travel impossible, were now able to work abroad. By 1913, most of them were trading at Itu, in Akwa Ibom State, and Calabar, in Cross River State.